The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a country located at the southern tip of the Caribbean. It borders the countries of Grenada and Venezuela. It was the first Caribbean to host the 5th Summit of the Americas. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west. Treaty between the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Republic of Venezuela on the delimitation of marine and submarine areas, 18 April 1990. The country covers an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago and numerous smaller land forms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the entire population which is estimated at 1.3 million (2005). The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.
Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and was the birthplace of steelpan, calypso, soca, and limbo. A visit to Trinidad today would reveal a multicultural melting pot stirred by the descendants of settlers from Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. But in 1498, when explorer Christopher Columbus set foot on Trinidad, things were very different. Arawak and Carib Indians prospered here on the island the Amerindians called Ieri, land of the Humming Bird, until Columbus spotted the island he named for the Holy Trinity. When the Spaniards discovered no precious metals on Trinidad, the Amerindians were enslaved and shipped off to work on other Caribbean settlements. Nearly a century would pass before Spain established Trinidad's first European community, San Jose de Oruna (St Joseph), which was sacked and burnt by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. Sir Walter Raleigh was also said to have discovered the Pitch Lake, from which he used material to caulk his leaking ship. Trinidad remained a Spanish possession from the 15th Century and the Cedula of Population in 1783, allowed French planters and their slaves to emigrate from the French colonies to the island. The British would capture Trinidad in 1797 and negotiate an amicable treaty of rule with the Spanish.
In the following years, enslaved Africans were brought in to work on sugar plantations and in 1802, the island became a British colony. After slavery was abolished by Britain, landowners imported thousands of indentured labourers from India, China and the Middle East. In 1889, Britain joined the smaller Tobago to Trinidad as an administrative ward. The islands achieved independence from England in 1962 and became the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1976.
Typical Stereotypes about the People and Their Eating Habits
Breakfast
Sada Roti and tomato choka
Alloo pie, pholorie & doubles
Bake and Shark
Popular Breakfast Fast Food - sada roti which is usually served with: Fried or curry Bodi (long beans), Baigan choka (roasted eggplant), Tomato Choka (Roasted Tomatoes), Pumpkin Talkari (pumpkin simmered in garlic, onion,cumin) Aloo choka (Potatoes fried with onion and garlic), fried Plaintain, Stew chicken liver or gizzard, and the popular bake and shark. Fried bake (a fried dough unleavened bread) usually served with: saltfish (dried and salted cod), sardine,corn or smoke herring (smoked, salted and dried fish), buljol (saltfish with fresh peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and sometimes boiled eggs); Bacon, Fried Plantain, Stew Chicken, corned beef with onions and tomatoes. Coconut bake (coconut bread) usually served with: fried accra (saltfish fritters), black pudding, Butter, Cheese paste(a mixture of cheese carrots and mayo), tannia cakes (fried dasheen cake) and boiled yuca with butter, fried plantain and buljol
Lunch and Dinner
Callaloo
Provision
Chicken Roti
A popular dish in Trinidad and Tobago is shark and Fried bake. Another very popular and nationally well-known dish with distinctly African roots is callaloo, a creamy and spicy side dish made of dasheen or Taro leaves, okra known locally as Okro, crab or pigtails, thyme, coconut milk and shado beni (from "Chardon Bénit,"French thistle or Fitweed) or bhandhanya (Hindi bandh dhanya, "closed cilantro") or culantro. Callaloo is often served with cornmeal coo coo, plantain, cassava, sweet potatoes, dumplings and curried crab.Pelau, a rice-based dish of Afghani origin, is a very popular dish in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as stewed chicken, breadfruit oil down, macaroni pie, pepperpot, ox-tails, among many others.
Trinbagonian dishes are often stewed, or barbecued. An array of fish can be bought at local merchants throughout Trinidad and Tobago, such as flying fish, king fish, carite, sapatay, red fish,bonito, lobster, conch and crab, tilapia and seasonal cascadura. Tobagonian food is dominated by a wide selection of seafood dishes, most notably, curried crab and dumplings, and Tobago is also known for its sumptuously prepared provisions, soups and stews, also known as blue food across the country. A popular Trini dish is macaroni pie, a macaroni pasta bake, with eggs and cheese, and a variety of other potential ingredients according to which of the many recipes you are following.
Another local dish is the rare delicacy cascadu (cascadura),which is a small fresh water fish. There is a local legend in Trinidad that s/he who eats cascadu will return to Trinidad to end their days.
Condiments
Trinidadians accompany their meals with various condiments, these can include pepper sauces, chutneys and pickles and are often home made. Pepper sauces are made by using habañero or other hot peppers, either minced or chopped and other spices. It can sometimes include lime or lemon as well as other vegetables, and come in many variations and flavors. The "mother-in-law" is another popular condiment which is a coarsely chopped spicy medley of habañeros, carrots, carylie (bittermelon) and other spices. Chutneys are popular as well and often include mango,tamarind, cucumber, shado beni, and sometimes coconut. There are a variety of popular pickles known locally as Achar which are commonly used. Kuchela a grated spicy version, usually made from mango but sometimes made from Pommecythère, the Mango version being most popular. Other version of Achars are made from mango, Pommecythère,tamarind, Lemon and Dillenia indica or Chulta as its known locally.
Street foods
Corn soup
Snow cone
Souse
Street Foods: Popular freshly prepared street foods include doubles, phulourie, bake and shark (particularly at a Maracas Bay, a popular beach on the North coast), curried shrimp roti, corn soup, geera chicken (Hindi jira, "cumin") and pork, raw oysters (usually sold at stalls where there is a lighted kerosene torch or flambeau) with a spicy sweet/hot sauce mainly with cilantro or chadon beni (Eryngium foetidum), saheena, kachori (Hindi kachuri), aloo (Hindi alu, "potato") pies, fish pies, cheese pies, beef pies (many Trinidadian neighbourhoods boast a local Pie-Man) and pows (Cantonese pao-tzu < baaozi, 'steamed wrapped roll with savoury or sweet filling)- steamed buns filled with meat, typically char siu pork.
A popular street side favourite, before the consumption of alcohol, is Souse (made from Pig, Cow or Chicken Feet seasoned with onion, garlic, salt, pimento and scotch bonnet peppers, lemon and chadon beni), served warm (mostly) or slightly chilled(room temperature). It is also rumoured to be a cure to hang overs. When in season, Roast and Boil Corn on the Cob can be found any time day or night. On festive occasions (Carnival, Borough Day and most public holidays), street foods also include Wild Meats such as Deer, Iguana, Manicou (Opossum), Tatou (Armadillo), and Agouti (similar to a Guinnea Pig) to name a few. These are prepared either as a Creole or Curry dish, and served with a wide choice of Local Pepper Sauces.
Cold Street Snacks: On hot days, locals enjoy souse, ice cream, snow cones (served in various colours, flavours and shapes, often with sweetened condensed milk), ice pops, freezies, sucker bag, coconut slushies and fresh coconut jelly.
Festival foods
Black cake
Ponche de creme
Pastelle
Sorrel drink
Special Christmas foods include pastelles (called hallaca in Venezuela where they originated), garlic pork (carne vinha-d'alhos, a Portuguese dish), boiled or baked ham, turkey, pigeon peas, fruit cake (or black cake), ginger beer, ponche de crème, egg nog, and sorrel. Special Diwali foods include Mohanbhog, Lapsi, channa, and aloo. Special Eid foods include sawain, barfi rasgulla, halwa, and baklawa.
Desserts
Indian sweets
Sugar cake
tamarind balls
The popular local desserts are usually extremely sweet. Local snacks include cassava or coconut pone and stewed guavas, sweetbread, paw paw balls, tamarind balls, bene balls (sticks or cakes), toolum, guava cheese (guava paste), jub jub and sugar cakes, nut cake, chilli bibi and brown sugar fudge. Local chocolatiers and confectioners manufacture several different types of sweet treats. Indian delicacies like khurma, gulab jamoon, ladoo, jalebi, prasad, coconut barfi, pera and barfi are also popular.
Beverages
There are many different popular beverages in Trinidad. These include, various sweet drinks (Sodas) (Chubby, Solo, Peardrax), and also Malta, Smalta, Shandy, citrus juice,ginger beer, Guinness Beer, Peanut punch, channa (chickpea) punch, beet punch, sorrel, mauby, seamoss punch, barbadine punch, soursop punch and Coca Cola, paw paw punch.
Carib is a very popular local lager beer. There is also Carib Light and Carib Shandys, which come in Sorrel, Ginger, and Lime flavours. Coconut water can be found throughout the island. Rum was invented in the Caribbean, therefore Trinidad and Tobago boasts rum shops all over the island, serving local favourites such as ponche-de-crème, puncheon rum, and home-made wines from local fruits.
Regional Influences
Stemming from the origins of this diverse background, the twin island state’s culture embraced a unique collage of practices, dress, music, religion and festivals. Trinidad and Tobago possesses a vast wealth of sites and buildings with historical and architectural significance. The material heritage and culture of Trinidad and Tobago (i.e. archaeology, buildings, painting, sculpture, and crafts) is particularly splendid. The varied ethnic groups that have made Trinidad and Tobago their home over the years – including Indians, Chinese, Portuguese, Syrians, Africans, English, French and Spanish – have all contributed to the rich multiculturalism which now defines the islands. This is reflected in the country’s music (calypso, soca, chutney) dance (Bélle, whine), musical instruments (steelpan and tassa drums) and cuisine (pelau, roti, doubles, bake & shark).
The richness of the people is seen also in the major cultural events celebrated throughout the year, some examples of which are:-
Phagwa, a Hindu festival, held in March, in which coloured liquid is squirted over participants, dressed in white, heralding the arrival of spring, and the triumph of life over death.
Hosay, a Shiite Muslim festival, in which tadjahs, miniature replicas of tombs, are paraded, to the thunder of drumming, through the towns of St James and Cedros. The date varies since it is based on the sighting of the new moon.
Tobago’s Heritage Festival in July, where folk traditions are celebrated in song, dance and drama.
Divali, the Hindu Festival of Light, in October, where thousands of tiny clay lamps called deyas are lit in homes and parks, often in intricate bamboo designs, representing the triumph of good over evil.
Eid-ul-Fitr, a Muslim festival, which concludes the fast of the Holy Month of Ramadan, and is usually observed around October-November. The other ancient Muslim festival occurs about two months later. Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the sacrifice Abraham was prepared to make of his son Isaac. These festivals mark periods of reflection and prayer.
Other notable events include the National Music Festival, the World Steelband Festival and the increasingly popular Pan Jazz Festival.
Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and was the birthplace of steelpan, calypso, soca, and limbo. A visit to Trinidad today would reveal a multicultural melting pot stirred by the descendants of settlers from Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. But in 1498, when explorer Christopher Columbus set foot on Trinidad, things were very different. Arawak and Carib Indians prospered here on the island the Amerindians called Ieri, land of the Humming Bird, until Columbus spotted the island he named for the Holy Trinity. When the Spaniards discovered no precious metals on Trinidad, the Amerindians were enslaved and shipped off to work on other Caribbean settlements. Nearly a century would pass before Spain established Trinidad's first European community, San Jose de Oruna (St Joseph), which was sacked and burnt by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. Sir Walter Raleigh was also said to have discovered the Pitch Lake, from which he used material to caulk his leaking ship. Trinidad remained a Spanish possession from the 15th Century and the Cedula of Population in 1783, allowed French planters and their slaves to emigrate from the French colonies to the island. The British would capture Trinidad in 1797 and negotiate an amicable treaty of rule with the Spanish.
In the following years, enslaved Africans were brought in to work on sugar plantations and in 1802, the island became a British colony. After slavery was abolished by Britain, landowners imported thousands of indentured labourers from India, China and the Middle East. In 1889, Britain joined the smaller Tobago to Trinidad as an administrative ward. The islands achieved independence from England in 1962 and became the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1976.
Typical Stereotypes about the People and Their Eating Habits
Breakfast
Lunch and Dinner
Trinbagonian dishes are often stewed, or barbecued. An array of fish can be bought at local merchants throughout Trinidad and Tobago, such as flying fish, king fish, carite, sapatay, red fish,bonito, lobster, conch and crab, tilapia and seasonal cascadura. Tobagonian food is dominated by a wide selection of seafood dishes, most notably, curried crab and dumplings, and Tobago is also known for its sumptuously prepared provisions, soups and stews, also known as blue food across the country. A popular Trini dish is macaroni pie, a macaroni pasta bake, with eggs and cheese, and a variety of other potential ingredients according to which of the many recipes you are following.
Another local dish is the rare delicacy cascadu (cascadura),which is a small fresh water fish. There is a local legend in Trinidad that s/he who eats cascadu will return to Trinidad to end their days.
Condiments
Trinidadians accompany their meals with various condiments, these can include pepper sauces, chutneys and pickles and are often home made. Pepper sauces are made by using habañero or other hot peppers, either minced or chopped and other spices. It can sometimes include lime or lemon as well as other vegetables, and come in many variations and flavors. The "mother-in-law" is another popular condiment which is a coarsely chopped spicy medley of habañeros, carrots, carylie (bittermelon) and other spices. Chutneys are popular as well and often include mango,tamarind, cucumber, shado beni, and sometimes coconut. There are a variety of popular pickles known locally as Achar which are commonly used. Kuchela a grated spicy version, usually made from mango but sometimes made from Pommecythère, the Mango version being most popular. Other version of Achars are made from mango, Pommecythère,tamarind, Lemon and Dillenia indica or Chulta as its known locally.Street foods
A popular street side favourite, before the consumption of alcohol, is Souse (made from Pig, Cow or Chicken Feet seasoned with onion, garlic, salt, pimento and scotch bonnet peppers, lemon and chadon beni), served warm (mostly) or slightly chilled(room temperature). It is also rumoured to be a cure to hang overs. When in season, Roast and Boil Corn on the Cob can be found any time day or night.
On festive occasions (Carnival, Borough Day and most public holidays), street foods also include Wild Meats such as Deer, Iguana, Manicou (Opossum), Tatou (Armadillo), and Agouti (similar to a Guinnea Pig) to name a few. These are prepared either as a Creole or Curry dish, and served with a wide choice of Local Pepper Sauces.
Cold Street Snacks: On hot days, locals enjoy souse, ice cream, snow cones (served in various colours, flavours and shapes, often with sweetened condensed milk), ice pops, freezies, sucker bag, coconut slushies and fresh coconut jelly.
Festival foods
Special Diwali foods include Mohanbhog, Lapsi, channa, and aloo.
Special Eid foods include sawain, barfi rasgulla, halwa, and baklawa.
Desserts
Beverages
There are many different popular beverages in Trinidad. These include, various sweet drinks (Sodas) (Chubby, Solo, Peardrax), and also Malta, Smalta, Shandy, citrus juice,ginger beer, Guinness Beer, Peanut punch, channa (chickpea) punch, beet punch, sorrel, mauby, seamoss punch, barbadine punch, soursop punch and Coca Cola, paw paw punch.Carib is a very popular local lager beer. There is also Carib Light and Carib Shandys, which come in Sorrel, Ginger, and Lime flavours.
Coconut water can be found throughout the island. Rum was invented in the Caribbean, therefore Trinidad and Tobago boasts
rum shops all over the island, serving local favourites such as ponche-de-crème, puncheon rum, and home-made wines from local fruits.
Regional Influences
Stemming from the origins of this diverse background, the twin island state’s culture embraced a unique collage of practices, dress, music, religion and festivals. Trinidad and Tobago possesses a vast wealth of sites and buildings with historical and architectural significance. The material heritage and culture of Trinidad and Tobago (i.e. archaeology, buildings, painting, sculpture, and crafts) is particularly splendid. The varied ethnic groups that have made Trinidad and Tobago their home over the years – including Indians, Chinese, Portuguese, Syrians, Africans, English, French and Spanish – have all contributed to the rich multiculturalism which now defines the islands. This is reflected in the country’s music (calypso, soca, chutney) dance (Bélle, whine), musical instruments (steelpan and tassa drums) and cuisine (pelau, roti, doubles, bake & shark).
The richness of the people is seen also in the major cultural events celebrated throughout the year, some examples of which are:-